Pollution shortens the average lifespan in Vietnam. Toxic air causes 70,000 deaths and reduces life expectancy by 1.4 years, according to one estimate.
The health crisis is most dire in the capital city Hanoi and its neighbouring Bac Ninh and Hung Yen provinces, where people are exposed to the most polluted air in the country, with dangerous levels of PM2.5 concentration PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, which can penetrate the respiratory system and pose serious health risks.
Pollution concentrations in Hanoi are far above the national standard of 25 µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter) and the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m³. One-third of PM2.5 particles in the ambient air originates from local sources, while the rest is transported from outside Hanoi.
The main sources of these polluting emissions are motor vehicles, industrial plants and construction, and the burning of charcoal and agricultural waste.
Vietnam needs tougher emissions standards and more effective enforcement controls — and a commitment to make this a top policy priority.
These efforts must be pursued in tandem with solid waste management; air pollution abatement must also be integrated with climate change mitigation. Stronger regulation and implementation must tackle emissions at the source, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, switching to cleaner alternatives in energy and transport, and improving waste management.
The recently issued air pollution action plans for Hanoi signal the government’s cognisance of the pollution crisis. While these are steps in the right direction, a careful World Bank assessment considers them seriously insufficient to protect health in this decade.
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Hanoi’s extreme air pollution is a roadblock to healthy living and to Vietnam’s ambitious agenda of attaining living standards consonant with high-income status by 2045, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Even with new policies, air pollution is expected to worsen over the rest of this decade, unless Hanoi tightens measures to cut pollutants directly and takes a comprehensive approach that also reduces the carbon emitted through its waste management practices.
Emissions from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles plying the roads play havoc with air quality. Hanoi has over a million cars and seven times as many motorbikes, many of which fail to meet emission standards. Stronger regulations, such as passing emissions tests for renewing licenses, would directly address the existing combustion engine population. In parallel, Hanoi needs to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles, especially buses and taxis.
The enormous health cost of the industrial sector’s energy consumption also demands urgent attention. Accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources would deliver the dual benefit of cleaner air and reduced GHGs, but much of the remedial effort begins with the existing infrastructure. Coal-fired power plants accounted for nearly 50 per cent of Vietnam’s total electricity output last year.
Tightness in energy supply, due to disruptions in raw material supply chains, perpetuates this hazardous situation and complicates efforts to switch away from coal. Nonetheless, there is substantial room for Vietnam to impose stringent limits on allowable emissions in coal-fired power plants.
Enforcement of such standards could compel utilisation of more efficient filters and flue gas desulphurisation, which removes the highly polluting sulphur dioxide from power plant exhaust, and possibly reduce coal usage as well.
Studies highlight that effective pollution mitigation must include improvements in waste management. Hanoi generates 6,500 tons of domestic waste daily, including enormous plastic waste, with a large portion buried in landfills. Decomposition of solid waste in landfills generates pollutant gases, which can be alleviated by building an infrastructure to capture methane emissions from landfills.
Reducing the accumulation of waste, through better waste collection and recycling, is an interrelated measure. Household waste has grown in tandem with Hanoi’s residential density; poor waste segregation at the source intensifies the problem. Public spaces, including open grounds, have become informal dumping zones.
The burning of waste, which releases a toxic mix of methane, carbon dioxide, and particulates, is especially deleterious. Strict enforcement of the ban on dumping and open burning of municipal solid waste, including by households and agricultural crop residue (like rice straw), is crucial for eliminating another preventable source of pollution. Such measures could also spur better management of agricultural residues.
Targeting air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) simultaneously can provide substantial co-benefits of improved air quality while mitigating climate change. This will help Vietnam reduce emissions in line with its 2030 air quality goals, while at the same time delivering on its nationally determined contribution to climate mitigation under the Paris Agreement.
Chinese cities have demonstrated that GHG reduction strategies tackle both particulate and carbon emissions. When Beijing implemented its integrated Clean Air Action Plan (2013-2017), it achieved a 35 per cent reduction in particulates while simultaneously cutting carbon emissions by 22 per cent.
Hanoi’s extreme air pollution is a roadblock to healthy living and to Vietnam’s ambitious agenda of attaining living standards consonant with high-income status by 2045, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Concerted efforts in emission regulation, waste management, and climate mitigation will help advance the anti-pollution agenda and resolve the city’s public health crisis.
This article was first published in Fulcrum, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s blogsite.
